Before the pandemic hit, the nation’s manufacturing sector — including the refining and petrochemical industries — was wrestling with how to find and train enough young people to replace the wave of Baby Boomers retiring from the workforce at a rate of nearly 6,000 per day.
It was 2010 and Jerry Wascom, ExxonMobil’s Americas refining director, was worried. Despite fuel and petrochemical manufacturers making significant improvements in the safety of their individual operations, across the industries there was an uptick in serious incidents. Workers were getting injured, surrounding communities were losing confidence, the reputation of the industries was being tarnished and regulators were becoming increasingly engaged. Wascom turned to his counterparts within the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers Association (AFPM), the industry trade group, and asked, “Are we doing enough to protect people?”
North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) surveyed energy industry workers and examined existing BLSA data, and discovered several notable takeaways.
Over the last few years, AFPM has increased its efforts to attract people to the wide range of careers in the fuel and petrochemical industries in anticipation of not only a wave of retirements that will hit the industries in the next 5-10 years, but also tremendous growth thanks to the shale revolution.
The beginning of fall once again marks the start of another school year filled with endless possibilities for wide-eyed students eager to learn. For AFPM, the beginning of the school year is yet...
America’s abundance of oil and natural gas is providing a variety of high-tech, well-paying careers. More than 30 refinery expansions worth $14 billion are currently under development across the...
As part of our work to promote workforce development in the fuel and petrochemical industries, AFPM has teamed up with EdVenture Partners to stage a student-based recruitment challenge and highlight...
Lupita Escandon has heard her fair share of “nos.” The mother of three young children had faced plenty of obstacles in balancing life at home with her dream of embarking on a career path for the betterment of her family and herself.
Washington, D.C. is a college town bustling with student activists embracing their First Amendment rights. During our college years, we all latch on to various movements or beliefs (myself included)—for one reason or another—that perhaps remain when we leave university life behind us.
